1,720,961 research outputs found

    Preventing forest fires through remote sensing: achievements of the prevention and recovery of forest fires emergency in the Mediterranean area project

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    The three-year Space-Based Information Support for the Prevention and Recovery of Forest Fires Emergency in the Mediterranean Area (PREFER) project was devoted to creating a satellite-based service infrastructure capable of providing up-to-date information to support the prepared¬ness, prevention, recovery, and reconstruction phases of the forest fires emergency cycle in the European Mediterranean region. The project, an initiative of the 7th Framework Pro¬gramme for Research and Technological Development, was successfully completed at the end of 2015. However, the project’s products were also made available to engaged us¬ers for the 2016 summer season. The present article presents the initiative’s achievements, emphasizing the most innovative information products de¬veloped in PREFER’s framework. For these products, the methodology and validation results are introduced and dis¬cussed. The PREFER project was largely associated with the European Copernicus program (http://www.copernicus.eu/), the goal of which is to develop operational information services on a global scale, using both space- and ground-based monitoring systems, in support of environmental and security policy needs

    Evaluating Hyperion capability for land cover mapping in a fragmented ecosystem: Pollino National Park, Italy

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    We analyze the capability of Hyperion spaceborne hyperspectral data for discriminating land cover in a complex natural ecosystem according to the structure of the currently used European standard classification system (CORINE Land Cover 2000). For this purpose, we used Hyperion imagery acquired over Pollino National Park (Italy). Hyperion pre-processed data (30 m spatial resolution) were classified at the pixel level using common parametric supervised classification methods. The algorithms' performance and class level accuracy were compared with those obtained for the same area using airborne hyperspectral MIVIS data (7 m spatial resolution). Moreover, in selected test areas characterized by heterogeneous land cover (as mapped by MIVIS classification) a Linear Spectral Unmixing (LSU) technique was applied to Hyperion data to derive the abundance fractions of land cover endmembers. The accuracy of the LSU analysis was evaluated using the Residual Error parameter, by comparing Hyperion LSU results with land cover fractional abundances achieved from reference data (i.e., MIVIS and air-photo classification). The results show the potential of Hyperion spaceborne hyperspectral imagery in mapping land cover and vegetation diversity up to the 4th level of the CORINE legend, even at the sub-pixel level, within a fragmented ecosystem such as that of Pollino National Park. Moreover, we defined a criterion for evaluating the Hyperion accuracy in retrieving land cover abundances at the sub-pixel scale. Sub-pixel analysis allowed us to determine the optimal threshold to select the areas on which consistent fractional land cover monitoring can be achieved using the Hyperion sensor. (c) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    COSMO SkyMed AO projects -multi-temporal SAR and optical data integrated approach for weed infested inland waters

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    In this paper we deal with the integrated use of time-series of SAR and MODIS images to derive the temporal behavior, the abundance and the distribution of the floating macrophytes in the Winam Gulf (Kenyan portion of the Lake Victoria). The proliferation of invasive plants and aquatic weeds is of growing concern. Starting from 1989, Lake Victoria has been interested by the highest infestation of water hyacinth with significant socio-economic impact on riparian populations. The information provided by satellite can play an important role in supporting a decision system for the management of the water resources allowing also an easy and inexpensive way of monitoring the environment response to any action that might be undertaken to contrast its degradation. This paper aims at assessing the capability of medium/high resolution (Wideregion and Stripmap) COSMO-SkyMed ScanSAR time series imagery to support/supplement optical data, frequently affected by clouds, in the knowledge of temporal macrophytes growing cycles and sustain the monitor and management of the Lake Victoria waters. © 2012 IEEE

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship

    Wind energy potential analysis using Sentinel-1 satellite: A review and a case study on Mediterranean islands

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    A method for assessing and mapping the wind energy potential of near- and off-shore areas by means of multi sensor satellites (i.e. the recently launched Sentinel 1) is shown in this paper and applied to a case study area in the north-west coast of the Sicily island. The presented method aims at i) preliminary identifying the best sites for wind turbine generators installation and/or ii) estimating the average wind potential in small areas (e.g. archipelagos) for energy planning purposes. Firstly, a detailed literature review of existing techniques for wind speed estimation has been carried out, considering the most traditional methods (e.g. meteorological masts), remote sensing techniques and including a thorough review on the use of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) methods integrated with Geophysical Model Functions (GMFs) for wind speed retrieval. This review enables to identify CMOD5 (C Geophysical model function 5) as the best performing GMF overcoming the CMOD4 accuracy issues in high wind speed conditions. Thus, the method has been detailly described and showcased through the analysis of the case study. SAR images from the Sentinel 1 satellite have been processed by means of the Sentinel Application Platform (SNAP) software. Afterwards, the wind speed and direction have been mapped through a Geographic Information System software. Lastly, the mean wind climate has been extrapolated for a specific Region Of Interest by the Environment for Visualizing Images (ENVI) 4.8 software. Consequentially, six hot spots characterized by high-energy potential have been identified as possible sites for possible installations of wind turbine generators

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis

    Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts

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    We conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more sophisticated methods

    Author Index

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